Blurring the lines
by BEtheLEAF44
Summary: Blake is a young and talented artist discovering how her art could help the Faunus.


Smooth pencil strokes connected with paper as Blake Belladonna captured her new school's architecture and courtyard in her worn sketchbook. It was her way to cope, seeing that she didn't know anyone. "_Go to Beacon," _her parents said. _"It's a huge stepping stone for the Faunus_," they urged_. Blah-blah-blah—_SNAP, the sound of the pencil tip breaking broke her brooding.

She scowled at the jagged lead as if she could spook it into fixing itself while her other hand plowed through her bag for the sharpener. Once she located it, the pencil twisted vigorously in the sharpener while Blake reminisced about her home in Menagerie and her friends.

Blake was a Faunus trapped in a school of humans. Since the dawn of time, her people were regarded as lesser beings and because of this, the kingdoms of Remnant forced them into slavery. Over time, numerous wars were fought for their liberation. Today slavery was a thing of the past, however, segregation and discrimination were still very much alive.

Menagerie was a place the Faunus could go for peace. It was a small continent that was 'gifted' by the kingdoms so the Faunus could claim a land of their own. A would-be nice sentiment if it wasn't two-thirds desolate desert and way overpopulated. Honestly, it felt like the rest of the world treated them so poorly so they would want to flee to the island instead of trying to cohabitate with humans.

Before Blake was born, her parents became pivotal in the Faunus Rights Revolution movement. Together, they slowly influenced change throughout the kingdoms; her dad always conveyed that change took time. Once she came into the world she became dedicated to helping the cause. Most of the time she didn't mind, attending every rally and boycott until their voice was heard. Their nonviolent manners of protesting were impacting social change for their people after all.

However, it was the reason she was plunged into finishing her third year of high school thousands of miles away from home now. The city of Vale had become the first major kingdom to allow the integration of Faunus into their public and private institutions with humans. Beacon—the cream of the crop when it came to prestigious academics in Remnant—offered to accept her if she met their requirements. She had always been an exceptional student, not only meeting the prerequisites but blowing their standardized tests and application process out the water.

The fact that she even got into Beacon was a huge accomplishment, but that didn't alleviate her feeling everyone's curious or judgmental eyes on her wherever she went on campus. It was rather ironic, actually; her whole life was dedicated to helping her kind live with humans and have the same rights, yet here she was—surrounded by them—and she never felt so uncomfortable.

There was a small glimmer of comfort when she spotted another Faunus before lunch period. Unfortunately, when she tried to find them in the cafeteria, they were nowhere to be found. Not that she blamed the rabbit-eared girl. Like Blake, she probably took her food to be eaten elsewhere; the hot June day seemed much more inviting over those frosty stares in the dining facility.

Three girls walked by then, catching her attention. The Faunus would have ignored them had it not been for the way they were strutting pompously with their chins held high to serve as a warning for all those that crossed their path. It was almost comical how they were attempting to exude superiority. "Look, that one has cat ears," the shortest of the three pointed out, a cavalier finger shooting in Blake's direction.

Amber eyes sparked with a challenge to each of them. She hated bullies and she wasn't about to start her first day by cowering. "Beacon is really lowering its standards these days. They'd let anyone in, including dumpster cats from Vale," the girl in the middle spat off.

"Seriously, she probably has fleas," the last girl added. They all erupted with a burst of ear-piercing laughter that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

Her cat ears folded atop her head and her hand turned into a fist, cracking the pencil in half in her hand. She was on the verge of launching a retort when someone jumped in. "I'm surprised they let you in this school Naya. Y'know, since you totally plagiarized your application essay then cheated on the entrance exams and got caught. I bet your parents paid a fortune for you to be able to do all of it over huh?"

Blake couldn't really make out the newcomer behind the other three girls and she didn't know how to feel about someone defending her. The middle girl looked mortified. "How did you know that?" she turned and hissed.

A chuckle sang through the air. "I guess one of your gal pals got a little chatty when she got drunk at the back to school party hosted by yours truly," the stranger answered nonchalantly. "Which is really sad considering said person only finished half a wine cooler."

The middle girl glowered at her shorter counterpart. "Why you little-"

"Now, now. No need to get feisty. Why don't you three run along now and go ruin some other poor soul's day. Oh, and if I catch you three lipping off to my new friend again, I'll make sure the whole school knows all of your dirt," she warned.

The three girls threw the stranger a haughty look. "Stupid slut," the middle girl muttered out of earshot while parading off. Blake could hear the words clearly with her heightened hearing but doubted the human who helped her could.

Annoyed, Blake was about to spout off how she didn't need a savior when she all but choked on her words once her eyes fell on the shapely blonde. It was difficult not to be captivated by her hair. Although it was wild and unruly, it reminded her of fire the way it curled and swayed like flames. The Faunus could almost feel the warmth emanating from the newcomer.

Shaking off her stupor, Blake forced her face into a scowl. "Look, I appreciate your help and all, but it's unwanted. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." She felt the other girl's pretty lilac eyes on her, outlining her body. Once they landed on her cat ears, a strange wave of self-consciousness washed through her. But why?

The blonde met her eyes with a crooked smile, arousing a strange flutter in her chest. "Let's just say this is me getting payback for my baby sister. Sad to say I've known that witch of a girl Naya for a while and she made my sis cry at a sleepover once," she explained while folding her arms.

The Faunus shrugged and didn't know what else to say except, "Okay." Her focus shifted to the broken pencil in her hand and she fumbled in her bag for a new one. She assumed the girl would leave since there was nothing left to say when suddenly a new pencil was brought into her line of sight. Blake eyed the item like it had the plague before looking up at the wielder. Why was this human being so nice to her?

"You shouldn't draw with a broken pencil… it's pointless!" The blonde cheesed, waiting for Blake to laugh. When she realized that wasn't happening, she clicked the back of the pencil so the lead would lengthen. "Take it, it's mechanical," she offered. The dark-haired girl did, albeit cautiously to ensure their fingers didn't touch. Humans weren't about touching Faunus. "I'm Yang by the way," the girl announced.

"Blake."

"Can I see what you're drawing?" After a moment of uncertainty, she handed her the sketchbook. She watched the girl's eyes widen with awe. "Holy wow… you drew this?!"

Blake felt herself get fluttery again at the appreciation. "Yeah."

Yang handed the book back to her. "It's really good. I can't even draw stick figures and don't get me started on the paint by numbers I tried once. Yikes."

The other girl squinted her eyes skeptically. "_Why_ are you talking to me?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

Blake waved the new pencil like a glowstick. "I mean, judging by the way you carry yourself, you're obviously _way_ on the other side of the popularity spectrum. So why are you committing social suicide by talking to me? ... A Faunus." She didn't know why, but it felt mandatory to voice what she was, painting the blonde an unnecessary picture. Normally Blake tried to be cordial whenever she was around the other species, yet she couldn't grasp why this particular human was being so nice to her. Especially since she was so stunning and she could be talking to literally anyone else.

An amused grin appeared. "In my experience, people usually make conversation so they can be friends."

Blake nearly came to a standstill in astonishment."…Friends."

"Have you ever had one?"

"Yes, I've had plenty," she blurted piqued. This only seemed to add to the blonde's entertainment. "Maybe not a human one though," she divulged.

"Well, I'd be honored if I was the first," Yang offered.

The bell rang then, shocking both girls. "I gotta go," Blake dodged. She shot up and quickly walked in a random direction, clutching her sketchbook to her chest. Hopefully it was in the direction of her next class?

"Hey, wait!" Yang called after her. When she saw the dark-haired girl pause and look back at her with a questioning look she went on. "Wanna meet for dinner? I can wait for you here?"

The Faunus froze with indecision. On the one hand, this girl intrigued her and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't want to get to know her better. On the other hand, Blake wondered if she had some ulterior motive to embarrass her somehow. _Screw it,_ she decided inwardly. "Sure," she agreed before turning to leave again.

When the Faunus returned later that evening, she half expected the blonde not to be there but Yang was where she promised she'd be. The taller girl was speaking on her Scroll, her hand gesturing to give her a minute. "Sorry," she apologized, putting her Scroll away. "My sister gets excited when we haven't spoken in a few days."

"It's fine," Blake assured and followed her inside. To her credit, the blonde didn't cower under the scrutiny of the entire cafeteria. The girl had enough confidence to fill the large space and flush everyone else out. Her self-assurance put Blake at ease; the Faunus had never met anyone so secure and if Yang didn't care then why should she?

"So how'd you learn to draw like that?" Yang asked after they settled at a table.

The other girl shrugged. "My parents noticed how much I liked it and put me through a bunch of classes. The more I learned, the more I wanted to put it to practice. I love looking at objects in space and applying it to paper; how different perspectives shift the shapes and shadows, how different textures make it look realistic—" Blake cut herself off, amazed with how much she was revealing. She looked up and found Yang watching her intently with a smirk. "Aaaand I'm rambling," her cheeks colored slightly.

"It's great. I love watching people talk about their passions," she assured.

Blake seized the opportunity to switch the spotlight. "So what are you passionate about?"

Yang's fork paused on the way to her mouth. "Oh! I like fighting! It's the reason I'm here."

"Is that what you want to do when you leave high school?"

She shrugged. "I know I'm not gonna do it forever, I just hope it will get me into college, y'know?"

Blake nodded, eyes examining the piece of fish on her fork before asking, "Any idea what you'd study?"

Yang kept her attention on her plate, absentmindedly playing with the food. "Some," came the vague answer.

Blake studied her, smirking at the ambiguity. Something told her the blonde didn't talk about deeper topics much and she felt herself relax at the hesitance. "Care to share? She pressed.

To her surprise, Yang actually looked sheepish. "It's dumb. I doubt you'd wanna hear it."

"Try me," Blake persuaded. "I have four ears and I don't judge. It makes me the best kind of listener."

The other girl laughed a little. "Fine," she agreed. "Ruby's my half-sister. When we were kids, she was sick and we spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals. Lucky for us, her mom was a pediatric nurse. A really sweet loving lady who knew just how to make Ruby feel better on the really bad days." Her features softened at the memory. "I'd watch her with the other kids too, she'd give them just as much care and attention as she did with Ruby. Plus, even though she wasn't my real mom, she treated me like her own. I... want to be like her. To be that sunshine for a kid on really gloomy days, cuz... she made me realize that not all heroes are like the ones in the storybooks I used to read my sister."

Blake felt her chest swell and she couldn't help but smile warmly at that. It was one of the sweetest things she'd ever heard. "Is your sister… better?"

Yang looked up at her with a wide grin. "Yeah, she's great! Stupid smart too, we're actually in the same grade, even though she's a couple years younger than me. She's an exchange student at Atlas this year."

"I'm sure your parents are proud of both of you."

A pained expression crossed her face. "Yeah," she exhaled. Her sudden change of mood made Blake wonder if she'd said something wrong until Yang said, "Ruby's mom… she uh, passed."

"I'm sorry," she offered quietly.

Yang shrugged and cleared her throat. "It was a long time ago…" she trailed, obviously looking for a way to change the topic. "Anyway, how do you like Beacon?"

"It's… different," Blake answered. Apparently it was her turn to be vague, but frankly she didn't really know what to think of the new school yet.

"I was new here too, y'know?" Yang revealed. "I came in the middle of the year as a freshman after being recruited to join the fight team, so I know what it's like to be the new kid. It was a great opportunity; I don't come from an affluent family like most of the students here. It was a huge adjustment for me."

The Faunus felt herself relax further. Knowing that someone had an inkling of an idea of what she was going through put her more at ease, even if Yang didn't grasp what it was like being a Faunus and a new student in a sea of humans. This particular human continued to surprise her and she was remarkably easy to talk to.

Two girls came and sat next to the blonde. "Why don't they ever serve pancakes for dinner?" mused the shorter girl with orange hair.

"Who's your friend?" wondered the tall, pretty one.

"Oh! This is Blake! Blake, this is Pyrrha and Nora. My teammates," she introduced, casting a wink to the Faunus.

Blake offered a friendly smile that turned into a frown as Nora bombarded her with a series of questions. The girl was speaking a mile a minute without pause. A piece of broccoli was shoved into her mouth by Pyrrha and they all laughed at Nora's abhorrence to the vegetable.

A good-looking boy with gray hair and eyes reached the blonde and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and grinned. "Oh, hey!"

"Hey," he greeted brusquely. "Your table's looking a little full so I'm gonna eat with the boys," his chin motioned towards a table further down the hall. "See you later?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. Oh let me introduce you to my friend before you go." A hand gestured to the Faunus. "Mercury this is Blake. Blake this is Mercury, my boyfriend."

A surge of disappointment came out of the blue in Blake, but it was soon forgotten the when she met Mercury's revolting gaze. "Hey," he grunted before stalking off to the other table.


End file.
